The rise of Home-Schooling in UK and US

In the past 4 years, education in UK has undergone a huge transformation with the rise in the number of children being home-schooled. Initially, the Covid-19 pandemic forced many to explore alternatives to conventional schooling, but this shift has continued beyond the pandemic. Parents and caregivers have different reasons when it comes to the decision whether to home-school their children or keep them in traditional schools. But what’s driving this shift away from traditional classroom settings? Could this be the beginning of a broader change in how we perceive learning and schooling?

Financial times currently discuss the boom in home schooling in not only UK but US as well and BBC news discuss about more families being “forced” into home education in UK. For this discussion, we will delve into this growing trend, the motivation behind the move and the possible implication for the future of education. Is home-schooling merely a temporary adjustment, or the start of a significant re-imagining of the school system?

The Trend

BBC revealed that “UK councils received more than 66,000 notifications of children being moved to home education in 2023-24 – up from 28,000 in 2019-20, figures from freedom of information (FOI)”. BBC reported that the North and midlands have the biggest percentage rises in England with 10,453 children moved to home education in 2019-20, compare to 27,502 in 2023-24. “ children moving to home education doubled in most regions, but more than tripled in the North East, and rose by 85% in the East of England” they remarked.

The Financial times, on the other hand, reported that the average rise of home schooling trend in US  from 2018-19 to 2022-23 is around 38% – 52% with town and rural areas contribute the highest compare to suburban and city areas. The data they provided is as follow:

The Reasons 

The financial times revealed the reasons for home schooling as below:

Beyond the figure, both news outlet revealed that philosophical is the highest among all reasons. It includes the small class size, and their children struggled to engage with lesson resulted to “a full breakdown” for them, impacting their mental health as well. For US context, there are a rise in polarised beliefs and a suspicion of state schools’ ethos, including hostilities about lessons encouraging diversity and openness about sexuality. There are fears over safety, especially because of school shootings in the US. 

The Pro and Cons in Home Schooling

The Pros: The Financial Times argued that Home-Schooling is a result of “the inability of traditional schools – whether state-funded or fee-paying – to support children struggling with their mental health or those with special educational needs and disabilities.” Dame Rachel, whose role exists to protect and promote the rights of children, said many families were turning to home education out of desperation, not choice, because traditional school cannot meet their children’s needs, as noted in BBC. The Covid-19 pandemic was a turning point to re-imagining schooling or education.

The Cons: According to the Financial Times , “the whole point of home education is it is home education; it is not school,” noted Wendy Charles-Warner, co-chair of Education Otherwise, a charity that supports home schooling in England and Wales. Traditional school is still relevant because the social interaction and some time in a school environment is important. Dame Rachel, whose role exists to protect and promote the rights of children, said many families were turning to home education out of desperation, not choice, as noted in BBC.

So, what do you think the future education would look like? Do you agree with the increase trend of home schooling or not?

References:

Borrett, A., Jack, A., & Jacobs, E. (2024, October 15). The boom in home schooling. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/364a65cf-4ec1-4f65-ba17-d7cf7ebb4b1a

Hattenstone, A. (2024, November 14). Home schooling: Concern as figures double in five years. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c704x7e5515o